The present invention relates to a glider, and more particularly to a glider having preassembled bench panels.
Gliders, also referred to as swings, are lawn or porch furniture providing single or multiple person seating that is generally suspended so that it may rock or swing. Conventionally, gliders are sold to consumers in an unassembled condition because it is impractical to package, store and transport these bulky items in an assembled condition.
A particularly popular form of gliders include a bench with seat and back portions each having a plurality of horizontal wooden slats. This type of glider often includes a frame fabricated from solid metal or metal tube stock, or cast from metal. As compared to wooden frames, such metal frames are durable, lightweight and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Assembly of such a glider involves individually attaching each wooden slat to the metal frame using two or more screws, nuts and bolts, or similar fasteners. This is inconvenient for a purchaser of the glider since it is a very tedious and time consuming task. Further, such an involved assembly procedure by an unskilled consumer often leads to improperly assembled gliders.
Thus, it is desirable to produce a glider with wooden seat slats that is easy to assemble and can be provided to the consumer in a compact package.
The present invention provides a partially assembled glider for final assembly by a purchaser comprising: a stationary frame; a bench frame for suspended attachment to the stationary frame; a preassembled bench back panel for attachment to the bench frame, the preassembled bench back panel comprising a first plurality of slats secured to a first support; and a preassembled bench seat panel for attachment to the bench frame, the preassembled bench seat panel comprising a second plurality of slats secured to a second support.
According another aspect, the present invention provides a glider comprising: a stationary frame formed from metal; a bench frame formed from metal, the bench frame being movably suspended from the stationary frame; a bench back panel comprising a first plurality of wooden slats attached to a first wooden support, the bench back panel being attached to the bench frame; and a bench seat panel comprising a second plurality of wooden slats attached to a second wooden support, the bench seat panel being attached to the bench frame.
According to a further aspect, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a partially assembled glider for final assembly by a purchaser, the method comprising steps of: assembling a bench back panel by securing a first plurality of slats to a first support; assembling a bench seat panel by securing a second plurality of slats to a second support; fabricating a plurality of frame members for constructing a bench frame and a stationary frame; and packaging the bench back panel, the bench seat panel and the frame members unassembled in a package for storage, shipping and sale to a consumer.